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A Profile of the Public Service of Canada


2.0 Managing People

2.1 Modernising Human Resources Management in the Public Service of Canada

The Public Service of Canada has served Canadians well for generations. On a daily basis, public service employees enforce laws and regulations, ensure proper stewardship of resources, advise ministers and provide the programmes and services that Canadians want and need. In fulfilling these, and other critical duties, public service employees play an essential role in preserving and promoting the high standard of living that Canadians share.

Over the past decade, public service leaders have moved forward with the realisation of an ambitious modern management agenda. Exercises like the introduction of modern comptrollership have improved departments' collective stewardship capacity, promoted more intelligent risk management and augmented government-wide decision-making abilities. The implementation of the Government On-Line Initiative is improving service delivery and helping to bring government closer to the citizens it serves. At the broader level, the adoption of the management framework, Results for Canadians, has clearly established the touchstone for sound public sector management, emphasising citizen-focus, values, results and responsible spending.

Public service human resources management (HRM) reforms are a critical component of this modern management agenda. At a fundamental level, better HRM is the foundation upon which other management change can be successful. HRM reforms will ensure, for example, that the Canadian Government can attract and retain the expertise it needs to realise the move to on-line service delivery. More effective recruiting procedures will make it easier to put the people the organisation needs in the places they are needed, thereby enhancing the government's ability to deliver on its commitments such as improving transparency and reporting to Parliament. Equally, a strong learning culture will increase capacity in areas such as identifying and prudently managing risk.

The Context for Change

A fundamental shift is occurring throughout government as it moves from a philosophy of traditional, time-limited training to one that is learning based in which employees at all levels continually increase their capacity to produce results. Greater emphasis is being placed on expanding employee competencies to ensure a proficient and professional workforce able to meet client expectations.

Human resources management in the Public Service of Canada has evolved over the years as a result of several rounds of reform. In 1918, a three-member Civil Service Commission was established and made responsible for protecting a public service based on merit through functions of recruitment, organisation, classification, compensation, promotion and transfers of personnel. The next significant reforms were in 1961 and 1967 with the update of the Civil Service Act, leading to the adoption of the following:

  • The Public Service Employment Act (PSEA), which governs appointments to the public service, and grants authority over staffing to the Public Service Commission;
  • The Public Service Staff Relations Act (PSSRA), which introduced collective bargaining;
  • Amendments to the Financial Administration Act (FAA) which designated the Treasury Board as the employer of the Public Service of Canada.

In the 1990s, Public Service 2000 led to some changes in the Public Service Employment Act designed to increase the powers of deputy ministers and managers. Later in the 1990s, La Relève introduced changes to succession planning and new corporate development programmes focusing on senior-level managers. Several new separate employers were established, operating outside the HRM structure of the core public service, among them the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency (CCRA), the Parks Canada Agency (PCA) and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), resulting in greater diversity in HRM in the federal government.

Numerous reports in recent years dealing with public service management have noted the need for clarity in roles and responsibilities, and the need for managers to have greater responsibility and accountability for HRM. Calls for reform of the HRM regime have come from: Glassco (Royal Commission on Government Organisation, 1962), Lambert (Royal Commission on Financial Management and Accountability, 1979), D'Avignon (Special Committee on the Review of Personnel Management and the Merit Principle, 1979), Public Service 2000 (1990), Hynna (Consultative Review of Staffing, 1996), La Relève: A Commitment to Action (1997), and the Public Service Commission (Directional Statement, 1999).

The statutory elements of the current framework are as follows:

Public Service Employment Act - assigns authority to the Public Service Commission for appointment to and within the core public service, but permits the delegation of staffing authority to deputy ministers. Deputy ministers have statutory authority for deployments (lateral transfers).

Public Service Staff Relations Act - grants the right to collective bargaining. It provides the framework for collective bargaining, and defines and determines the rights and obligations of the employer, employees and bargaining agents. It also provides dispute settlement mechanisms. The PSSRA gives the Public Service Staff Relations Board (PSSRB) the authority to oversee the collective bargaining system and to adjudicate certain grievances. The PSSRB may determine bargaining units and certify bargaining agents as the exclusive representatives of the employees in those units. The PSSRB is an administrative tribunal whose members are appointed by the Governor in Council. Decisions of the PSSRB are subject to review by the Federal Court.

Financial Administration Act - provides for the financial administration of the Government of Canada, the establishment and maintenance of the accounts of Canada and the control of Crown Corporations. Subsection 7(1) of the FAA provides, in part, as follows:

The Treasury Board may act for the Queen's Privy Council for Canada on all matters relating to … (e) personnel management in the Public Service of Canada, including the determination of the terms and conditions of employment of persons employed therein.

Implementing Change

Canada's ability to compete successfully in the global economy _depends on the quality of its public services and the competence and professionalism of public service employees. Innovation, excellence and adaptability in a dynamic federal public service are key to serving Canadians in the new knowledge economy. Among the challenges facing the Government of Canada is the need to attract new recruits into the public service while there is increasing competition for talent in the Canadian labour market.

The Government of Canada is committed to modernising its HRM framework. The existing system was developed more than 35 years ago, based on notions about the workplace that are not consistent with today's workplace culture and the knowledge age. A number of improvements have been made in recent years. Exercises such as La Relève, for example, represented an important step in strengthening the development of our future leaders in the aftermath of mid-1990s downsizing. Equally, the Public Service of Canada has made progress in areas such as labour relations, promoting a more culturally and ethnically diverse workplace and creating a more effective and fair executive compensation regime.

However, despite these many and varied improvements, there is a clear and pressing need for more fundamental change. The current legislative and institutional frameworks no longer allow the public service to be as responsive as it must be if it is to continue to serve Canadians. To meet the challenges of the twenty-first century, the Public Service of Canada must transform itself into a modern people-centred organisation, which is more flexible, responsive, adaptive and innovative.

The Rt. Hon. Jean Chrétien, Prime Minister of Canada, announced the formation of the Task Force on Modernising Human Resources Management in the Public Service on 3 April 2001. The task force is mandated to recommend a modern HRM policy, and a legislative and institutional framework which will enable the Public Service of Canada to attract, develop and retain the talent needed to serve the government and Canadians in the twenty-first century.

The task force is reviewing three major interrelated pieces of legislation: the Public Service Employment Act, the Public Service Staff Relations Act and relevant sections of the Financial Administration Act. It is looking at setting the broad framework for the Public Service of Canada under new legislation that is values based and less prescriptive. In doing so, the task force is guided by three principles:

  • Protection of merit through the maintenance of a representative public service that is also people-oriented, non-partisan and competence-based;
  • Responsibility for the management of human resources should, to the greatest extent possible, be assigned to managers, be clearly allocated and be pushed down in each organisation as far as possible for the purpose intended;
  • All those who share in the responsibility for the HRM of the public service are to be held accountable.

After consulting broadly and examining various options, the task force has crafted a balanced set of proposals for updating the PSEA, the PSSRA and the human resources management provisions of the FAA, as well as the Canadian Centre for Management Development Act. The legislation needed to bring these proposals into effect was tabled by the President of the Treasury Board, the Hon. Lucienne Robillard, in Parliament on 6 February 2003. It received House of Commons approval in June 2003 and will be discussed before the Senate in the autumn of 2003.

The Government of Canada is also proceeding with the implementation of several improvements to its HRM regime that do not require legislative changes in support of the work of the task force. These improvements are designed to enhance the ability of executives and managers to manage their human resources more effectively.

Supporting Material

2.2 Staffing the Public Service the Public Service Commission

The Public Service Commission (PSC) is an independent parliamentary agency mandated under the Public Service Employment Act to uphold the application of merit through the public service staffing system and to safeguard the values of a professional public service competence, non-partisanship and representation.

The PSC carries out its mission by administering the PSEA and a merit-based system and, inter alia, being responsible for the appointment of qualified persons to and within the public service; by providing recourse and review in matters under the PSEA; by delivering training and development programmes; and by carrying out other responsibilities as provided for in the PSEA and the Employment Equity Act (EEA).

The PSC has direct authority for recruitment, selection assessment and career counselling of members of the Executive Group. It is also responsible for certain programmes and services on behalf of the Treasury Board, such as development programmes for executives and feeder groups. These programmes include the Career Assignment Program, the Interchange Canada Program, the International Assignments Program, the International Exchange Program, the Business/Government Executive Exchange Program and the Employment Equity Initiatives Program.

All other personnel matters, such as job classification, staff relations and compensation are the responsibility of the employer the Treasury Board of Canada. The Treasury Board may, in the exercise of its responsibilities in relation to personnel management, including its responsibilities in relation to employer and employee relations in the public service:

  1. determine the requirements of the public service with respect to human resources and provide for the allocation and effective utilisation of human resources within the public service;
  2. determine requirements for the training and development of personnel in the public service and fix the terms on which such training and development may be carried out.

The Context for Change

Merit has been the basis of staffing within the Public Service of Canada since 1908. Over time, layers of rules and processes, resulting in a staffing process seen to be slow, cumbersome and unresponsive, obscured this fundamental value.

In recent years, a number of initiatives have been undertaken to modernise the management of people in the public service. In the early 1990s, the Consultative Review of Staffing brought together federal departments, bargaining agents, external stakeholders and the PSC to review and propose a new model for staffing in the federal public service. A move away from a rules-based approach to a values-based approach has emerged as a result.

These reforms have fundamentally reoriented the system by delegating direct staffing authority from the PSC to federal departments and agencies, with the PSC focusing on a proactive oversight role. This evolution is in keeping with the thrust of policy administration elsewhere in the public service that has featured a shift from emphasis on central control to decentralisation with accountability safeguards.

Implementing Change

The PSC's Values-Based Merit Framework is the result of extensive research and consultation with all stakeholders in the staffing system over a period of five years.

Reflecting its legislated mandate to protect the merit principle, and drawing on the work of the Task Force on Public Service Values and Ethics and the Consultative Review of Staffing, the PSC has identified three results values competence, representativeness and non-partisanship; three process values - fairness, equity and transparency; and two management principles - flexibility and affordability/efficiency that comprise a values-based approach to staffing. These essential components of the framework are presented and defined in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Merit Values and Management Principles

Figure 1: Merit Values and Management Principles (This figure is explained in the text)

As the PSC delegates more of its powers and moves out of staffing-related transactions, it is focusing increasingly on fostering accountability for merit on a systemic basis. To support this requirement, a modernised accountability infrastructure has been developed. This includes support and guidance to departments and agencies through research and analysis, framework policy approaches to staffing, sharing of best practices and learning tools, and help with tailoring staffing programmes to departmental needs.

This accountability process is supported by a modern approach to oversight that focuses on the overall health of the staffing system and looks at results beyond processes and traditional controls. This oversight is based first on values and management principles and is intended to ensure that all stakeholders are engaged in the Values-Based Merit Framework and to maintain an overview of the staffing system's performance.

The credibility of the delegated staffing system also rests on the effectiveness of the recourse process for those individuals who feel they have not received fair treatment in a particular process. The PSC has modernised the recourse function to integrate staffing values and improve timeliness of decisions, through such measures as a single window for all appeals and requests for investigations. The PSC has also worked with staffing officers to emphasise early intervention and alternative dispute resolution, and has increased the emphasis on systematic learning from experiences related to recourse.

Supporting Material

2.3 Classification Reform

The classification of work is fundamental to any human resources management system. In large and complex organisations, both public and private, it provides a means of grouping similar types of work together so that they can be ranked by levels of difficulty and differentiated from other, dissimilar work. Alignment of the work and the skills required to perform it is essential for the effective recruitment, selection, retention and professional development of employees.

The present classification system was created in the late 1960s to coincide with the introduction of collective bargaining. Public service work was classified and evaluated against a set of classification standards, one for each occupational group. As the years passed, some standards were amended to reflect changes in the work, and new ones were added as new work and new occupational groups emerged, resulting in more than 70 classification standards in use today.

The Context for Change

As with many organisations which have to manage in the new economy, the Government of Canada's system of classifying work has not kept pace with how the work has evolved. Some classification standards contain outdated notions about public service work. Others describe work that is no longer performed and many exclude important dimensions of current work.

Attempts to reform the public service classification system date back to the mid-1980s. The original design of the Universal Classification Standard (UCS) project, launched in 1997, was to reform the classification system on a universal basis applicable to all occupational groups except the Executive Group. There were two reasons for this plan. First, it was hoped that a common approach to job measurement (one standard versus the current 72) would greatly simplify the system, reduce the administrative burden on managers and lower the administrative overhead costs of maintaining the system. Second, a single classification standard would facilitate the creation of a single corresponding pay structure. The collapsing of all of the occupational group pay structures into one appeared to be the most promising way to ensure compliance with the requirements of the Canadian Human Rights Act (CHRA) for equal pay for work of equal value.

Managers, employees and unions across the public service took a fresh look at today's work requirements. This examination uncovered the need to recognise new aspects of work and flagged up where the system needed to eliminate elements that were no longer applicable. New level requirements for some types of work were uncovered and unnecessarily restrictive classification rules were identified for elimination. Work descriptions were updated to better reflect today's operating realities. Departmental managers, unions, employees, classification experts and TBS staff have worked very hard together to modernise and simplify the classification system.

In 2002, the Canadian Government carefully considered a range of perspectives and research to determine the best way to bring the UCS project to maturity. Officials concluded that, although classification reform is necessary to ensure the continued effectiveness of the public service, the universal approach was not workable. This is because applying a single standard and a single pay structure to the more than 150,000 positions in the federal public service would create a management framework that would be too rigid and inflexible for the widely varied work of its employees. As a result, it could impede the government's ability to compete in the marketplace for the talent and skills needed to serve Canadians in the future. Furthermore, it could call into question the role of multiple unions. A new approach was needed.

Implementing Change

On 8 May 2002, the government announced it was adopting a new approach that would allow it to simplify and modernise its classification system in a way that reflects labour market realities, treats men and women equitably, and helps address key government business needs.

The key aspects of the new approach are:

  • Tailored standards. Classification standards will be tailored to respond to the specific needs of individual occupational groups where existing standards are particularly outdated.
  • Commitment to pay equity. The Government of Canada is committed to the principle of equal pay for work of equal value in accordance with the Canadian Human Rights Act. The TBS supports the Pay Equity Task Force, appointed by the Ministers of Justice and Labour, in its efforts to propose an improved approach to achieving and maintaining equal pay for work of equal value. The TBS is looking forward to the results of its work.
  • A simpler system. Tailored classification standards will reduce the need for the large number of standards now in use. Progress has also been made in the use of generic work descriptions for similar types of work. These improvements will help reduce the administrative burden and promote employee mobility.
  • A rolling three-year plan. Implementing classification reform in an organisation as large and varied as the Public Service of Canada will take time. The government will move to a more manageable, multi-year classification reform programme, but this will not happen overnight. This programme will be updated each year and the TBS will monitor efforts and report on its progress and plans annually.
  • Working with departments and agencies and unions. Classification reform will be carried out in co-operation with departments and agencies, and unions. Based on their feedback, occupational groups may be scheduled for reform or deferred to a later date.
  • Building on past achievements. The government will build on the updated UCS-style work descriptions that have already been completed to describe employees' positions. It will also work with departments and agencies to ensure that the work descriptions can be used effectively with existing standards for as long as they may be needed.

The new approach to classification reform has several advantages for employees, departments and agencies, for unions and, ultimately, for Canadians. Classification standards can be tailored to the specific requirements of particular occupational groups and priority can be given to those groups in greatest need. Wages can be better aligned to different external labour markets. Unions can continue to negotiate wages for their different memberships in keeping with their diverse and changing needs.

To guide the government's work, several implementation initiatives have been identified and linked into a coherent strategy that groups classification work under three major headings:

  • Structural reform of classification standards, that is fundamental change to the basic architecture of standards, tailored to support the business needs of departments and agencies, and conducted on a group by group basis;
  • Maintenance of the existing classification standards, where structural reforms have not yet been carried out, or indeed, may not be needed;
  • Rebuilding system capacity across departments and agencies.

    Significant progress has been made under each heading as the government works towards achieving its initial classification reform milestone, the first formal update to the three-year rolling plan scheduled for May 2003, the anniversary of the President of the Treasury Board's announcement.

Supporting Material

  • Classification reform

2.4 Ensuring Non-discrimination in Employment Practices

The legislative foundation for ensuring non-discrimination in employment practices is the Employment Equity Act. The Act has as its stated objective to:

achieve equality in the workplace so that no persons shall be denied employment opportunities or benefits for reasons unrelated to ability and, in the fulfilment of that goal, to correct the conditions of disadvantage in employment experienced by women, aboriginal peoples, persons with disabilities and members of visible minorities … .

The Public Service of Canada is covered by this legislation. In addition, there are supporting policies aimed at fostering development of a public service that is representative of the population it serves. Two such policies are the Employment Equity Policy (currently being revised) and the Policy on the Duty to Accommodate Persons with Disabilities in the Federal Public Service that came into effect on 3 June 2002.

The TBS provides policy direction and guidance to federal departments and agencies, monitors and reports to Parliament on the implementation of employment equity, and consults and collaborates with employee representatives (including unions) on implementation measures. The TBS shares employer responsibilities with the Public Service Commission, the agency responsible for staffing in the public service. Several employer obligations, such as conducting a workforce survey, conducting a review of employment systems and preparing employment equity plans, have been delegated to departments and agencies.

The Context for Change

The Government of Canada is committed to employment equity and to the creation of a representative and inclusive workforce. There has been significant progress in implementing employment equity, as evidenced by the increases in representation for all groups designated under the Employment Equity Act. Between 1996 and 2001, representation has increased as follows: women from 48.2 per cent to 52.1 per cent; Aboriginal peoples from 2.3 per cent to 3.6 per cent; persons with disabilities from 3.1 per cent to 5.1 per cent; and visible minorities from 4.5 per cent to 6.1 per cent.

However, the employment equity initiative still matters:

  • For women, as the public service seeks to increase their representation in executive ranks;
  • For Aboriginal peoples, as the public service must address retention issues and a broader distribution of this group among departments and agencies;
  • For people with disabilities, as workplace accommodation issues, hiring and career progression need to be addressed;
  • For visible minorities, as plans are implemented for increasing the representation of this group overall and in the management ranks of the public service.

Employment equity matters for all as the Public Service of Canada understands and respects differences and seeks to benefit from the contributions of all Canadians.

The Employment Equity Act applied to the public service in 1996, making this institution subject to obligations that are similar to those of the federally-regulated private sector. To date, 28 of around 50 federal organisations for which audits have been conducted are in compliance with the legislation.

The current Employment Equity (EE) Policy has as its principal objectives:

  • A public service workforce in which Aboriginal peoples, members of visible minority groups, persons with disabilities and women are equitably represented and distributed. Workforce availability and the organisations' operational requirements will be taken into account in determining the equitable representation and distribution of designated groups.
  • The identification and removal of barriers in employment systems, policies, procedures, practices, organisational attitudes and established behavioural patterns that have an adverse effect on the employment or career progression of members of designated groups.
  • The implementation of special measures to correct the effects of employment disadvantages and promote the workforce participation of designated groups.
  • The administration, on behalf of the Treasury Board, of special measure programmes pertaining to designated groups.

Implementing Change

In seeking to address the persistent under-representation of visible minorities in the public service and creating a workplace culture that is more welcoming to diversity, the Government of Canada endorsed in June 2000, the Embracing Change Action Plan. This plan established five benchmarks for recruitment, promotion and career development of visible minorities and outlined a series of measures aimed at improving corporate culture and creating a more inclusive work environment.

In June 2002, the Policy on the Duty to Accommodate Persons with Disabilities in the Public Service came into effect to facilitate 'inclusion by design', the creation and maintenance of an inclusive barrier-free work environment. Departments and agencies are currently implementing this policy.

As the largest single employer subject to the Employment Equity Act, the Public Service of Canada strives to lead by example. It demonstrates this by being an organisation that embodies fairness, equity and the inclusion of all Canadians. The process of modernising the Public Service of Canada seeks to equip this institution for excellence in service to Canadians in the twenty-first century, and inclusion is clearly a part of such a transformation.

Supporting Material

2.5 Continuous Learning

Public service employees are called upon each day to deliver programmes and services to Canadians, to advise ministers, to enforce laws and regulations, and to do so with excellence and integrity. In a learning organisation, people at all levels continually strive to improve their capacity to produce results using new ideas, new knowledge and new insights.

The Public Service of Canada is committed to making the most of its knowledge and 'brain power' in order to fulfil its responsibilities in the best way possible. Life long learning is a commitment by individual public service employees to personal and professional development. The ultimate goal is to build a public service learning organisation that has two major pillars. The first is the cultivation of an interest in continual growth by individual employees. A learning organisation, however, is not simply an aggregate of individuals who are skilled at learning. It is an organisation that excels at innovative ways of bringing groups of people together in joint inquiry, reflection and discovery. Organisational learning is, therefore, the second pillar, calling on people to work together in mutually beneficial, high-energy collaboration. The new Policy for Continuous Learning challenges everyone in the public service to promote the development of a learning organisation. The shared responsibilities require the Treasury Board, as 'employer', to lead a co-ordinated approach to ensure that the individual and organisational learning efforts across the public service produce results that serve the interests of all Canadians.

The Context for Change

The Government of Canada is strongly committed to learning as a key to renewing the public service, strengthening integrity and accountability, supporting innovation and implementing improvements to the management of human resources.

The learning organisation has been a key organising principle since at least 1995. After a wave of fiscal austerity measures, it became apparent that a new 'social contract' was required for public service employees. This movement, known as La Relève, ushered in a wide variety of initiatives designed to improve the climate surrounding human resources. By 1999, it was clear that the learning component of La Relève needed to be fleshed out further and developed into a broader, more comprehensive framework.

The Committee of Senior Officials (COSO) is a deputy minister committee that provides leadership on issues that affect the entire public service. In support of the La Relève movement, and in response to the results of the Public Service Employee Survey of 1999, COSO established the Learning and Development sub-committee. The Learning and Development sub-committee created a list of 44 learning recommendations for action, one of which was the development of a new learning policy for the public service. In the months that followed, many consultations were held with employees, managers, senior learning advisors, bargaining agents, disabled persons and visible minority group members, with federal councils in each region of Canada and with functional communities. The final policy includes input from all of these groups.

The 2002 Speech from the Throne reaffirmed the importance of workplace learning in today's knowledge-based economy, and in May 2002 Treasury Board ministers approved A Policy for Continuous Learning in the Public Service. The objective of this policy is to build a learning culture within the public service that stimulates, guides and promotes the public service as a learning organisation committed to lifelong learning for its workforce.

It is worth noting that the second Public Service Employee Survey, carried out in 2002, found a significant improvement in both individual and organisational learning. Between 1999 and 2002, all major training and development indicators showed progress: access to training, on-the-job coaching, development of career-enhancing skills, and supervisory and departmental career support. For example, 10 per cent more employees (approximately 16,500 people) received on-the-job training in 2002 than in 1999.

Implementing Change

The continuous learning policy lays the foundation for the public service as a learning organisation. The policy uses a principles-based approach that moves the focus from formal training to continuous learning and fosters individual and collective responsibilities in support of personal and public service-wide learning objectives.

Specifically, the policy states that employees are jointly responsible (with their managers) for their learning plans, should be receptive to learning and should apply their learning to their job. Managers and organisations are responsible for the implementation of the policy and for providing general support to employees.

Departments and agencies are committed to have in place, by 31 March 2004, learning policies, action plans and individual learning plans to support employees' efforts to enhance their professional qualifications, and to create measurable targets and reporting mechanisms on learning.

As the employer, the Treasury Board is committed to developing a learning strategy to address corporate learning needs for the twenty-first century. The strategy will continue to build collaborative union-management relationships in the area of learning; support the development of interdepartmental committees, networks and communities of practice; identify common-knowledge needs of managers and employees and introduce a core package of learning activities to address these needs; develop an orientation programme for all new employees; provide the appropriate financial investment to facilitate the use of e-learning; and evaluate the policy and report on public service results.

A Policy for Continuous Learning in the Public Service recognises that learning is no longer just about training. The policy's approach is in line with a deeper cultural change that is being made as part of management commitment to reform the public service.

The quest to build a learning organisation cannot be considered as one single venture. It is a bundle of loosely connected initiatives, networks and localised activities, all guided by a larger blueprint, infrastructure projects and a set of widely-accessible resources. It is also, by definition, work in progress, since the creation of a learning organisation is a journey. The overarching strategy is guided by the following six broad principles:

  1. Learning is not a parallel activity, separate from an organisation's 'mission critical' functions but is, instead, actively aligned with organisational goals. This means that the organisation must create a culture that values learning.
  2. Experience is a rich source of insight. Therefore, to build capacity, a public service should reflect on experience, draw valuable lessons from it and share these lessons more broadly.
  3. People and diversity are valued. Diversity is a source of strength and learning, as people with different backgrounds and experiences bring new insights to debates.
  4. Managers play a crucial role in facilitating learning. Learning must, therefore, play a part in management priorities and activities.
  5. A learning organisation is responsible for systematically incorporating citizen input and feedback into organisational practices.
  6. A learning organisation systematically reflects on what it does - it evaluates processes and outcomes - in order to continually improve.

Two learning initiatives that are showing particular promise are noted below:

The Joint Learning Program: In autumn 2001, during the collective bargaining process, the Treasury Board Secretariat and the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), a union that represents a majority of federal public service employees, signed a Memorandum of Understanding to create a Joint Learning Program (JLP) funded at $7 million dollars. The JLP is an innovative initiative and the first learning programme to be negotiated. It offers learning activities for a two-year period to approximately 60,000 union members and to all managers across the country. The overall objective of the programme is to enhance union and management working relationships through learning.

Campus Direct: Campus Direct is a public service-wide e-learning infrastructure initiative that provides public service employees with a 'single window' delivery of on-line courses. It includes a learning portal; a repository of information on learning opportunities and a suite of on-line self-assessment tools; an e-learning library and a host of learning products such as courses; and an e-learning infrastructure and platform to deliver courses and allow managers and learners to keep track of their learning progress.

Supporting Material

2.6 Values and Ethics

This section provides an overview of measures taken concerning ethical conduct in the Public Service of Canada.

Canada has a broad ethics infrastructure allowing it to promote values and ethics in the public service. This infrastructure includes the following legislation and policies: the Canadian Human Rights Act; the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms; the Criminal Code (corruption, fraud and breach of trust); the Financial Administration Act (obligations of employees participating in the collection, management and disbursement of public funds, policy against bribes and other matters); the Official Languages Act; the Official Secrets Act; the Public Service Employment Act (oath of office and allegiance, the merit principle and neutrality); the Conflict of Interest and Post-Employment Code for the Public Service; the Government Security Policy (appropriate use of government information); the Policy on the Internal Disclosure of Information Concerning Wrongdoing in the Workplace; the Policy on the Prevention and Resolution of Harassment in the Workplace; and the Policy on Losses of Money and Offences and Other Illegal Acts Against the Crown.

The basic authority to determine rules governing the conduct of employees in the public service stems from section 11(2)(f) of the Financial Administration Act which states that the Treasury Board may 'establish standards of discipline in the public service'. The Act (section 12) enables the Treasury Board to delegate to the deputy head of a department the exercise of its powers and functions in relation to personnel management in the public service.

General principles governing all public service employees are set out in a Conflict of Interest and Post-Employment Code for the Public Service (the Code). This policy has been designated by the Treasury Board as a key policy for the management of human resources. In addition, individual departments and agencies have developed their own codes of conduct setting out provisions reflecting the specific nature of their organisations.

The Context for Change

It is government policy to minimise the possibility of conflicts between the private interests and the public service duties of employees, and to resolve any such conflicts in the public interest. The objective is to enhance public confidence in the integrity of the public service and its employees.

The provisions of the current Conflict of Interest and Post-Employment Code for Public Office Holders came into effect on 1 January 1986, and apply to all public service employees for whom the Treasury Board is the employer. All persons appointed to the public service and employees transferred, deployed or appointed to other positions within the public service are required to make a disclosure of any potential conflicts of interest that may exist at the time of their appointment.

Furthermore, under the Public Service Employment Act, every deputy head and employee, on appointment from outside the public service, must swear (or affirm) that they will faithfully and honestly fulfil their employment duties and will not, without due authority, disclose or make known any matter that comes to their knowledge by reason of their employment.

Various government bodies have responsibilities under this policy.

The Treasury Board, as the designated authority, will:

  • Review and rule on:
    • requests to supplement the compliance measures in the Code;
    • recommendations to designate positions below the executive level as subject to the post-employment compliance measures or to exclude positions from such measures;
    • applications from employees or former employees to reduce the post-employment limitation period specified in the Code;
  • Convene panels, as necessary, to advise on the application of the post-employment compliance measures in particular cases.

The Ethics Counsellor (formerly the Assistant Deputy Registrar General) will:

  • Provide advice on the most appropriate arrangements required for divestment of assets;
  • Serve as trustee of a frozen or retention trust, if requested;
  • Assess whether proposals for departmental reimbursement of costs incurred by employees in establishing trusts are appropriate.

The Public Service Commission is responsible for:

  • Establishing procedures to ensure that before or upon any appointment, appointees sign a document certifying that they have read and understood the Code and that, as a condition of employment, they will observe it;
  • Applying policies and establishing procedures and mechanisms to ensure compliance with the Code regarding Business/Government Executive Exchange and Interchange Canada assignments.

All employees are required to review their obligations under the Code at least once a year. They must take measures to prevent real, potential or apparent conflicts in accordance with the principles of conduct and measures in the Conflict of Interest and Post-Employment Code for the Public Service.

The deputy head as designated official must:

  • Ensure that employees are informed of the requirements of the Code and that they comply with all its requirements;
  • Determine whether real or potential conflicts of interest exist and what action, if any, specific employees have to take;
  • Seek Treasury Board approval for any compliance measures that may be required, beyond those the Code specifies, to reflect the department's particular responsibilities or the statutes governing its operations;
  • Establish procedures for employees to report official dealings with former public office holders who are or may be governed by the Code's post-employment measures;
  • Conduct exit interviews with employees subject to the post-employment compliance measures before they leave the public service or review with employees their responsibility in this regard;
  • Ensure that bargaining agents are consulted at departmental level about the administration of the Code, including the implementation of any supplemental compliance measures and the extension of the post-employment requirements to positions other than those in the management category.

The deputy head must request Treasury Board approval on the minister's recommendation to:

  • Designate any positions below the level of senior manager as subject to post-employment compliance measures;
  • Exclude positions from the application of sections 41 and 42 of the post-employment compliance measures regarding prohibited activities and the limitation period after leaving office.

There are conflict of interests co-ordinators within each government department who provide advice and guidance to managers and employees on potential conflict issues.

Codes are prepared and distributed to assist employees to be aware of their responsibilities with respect to the standards of conduct expected by the department.

Implementing Change

There have been a number of recent developments in Canada with respect to public service ethics and values, and codes of conduct. Two are described below: Comptrollership Modernisation and the Report of the Task Force on Values and Ethics in the Public Service.

In 1997, the Independent Review Panel on Modernization of Comptrollership in the Government of Canada tabled its report. In 1998, the pilot phase of modern comptrollership was launched. Three years later, the Treasury Board ministers decided on the government-wide implementation of modern comptrollership.

Modern comptrollership is a management reform focused on the sound management of resources and effective decision-making. It is intended to provide managers with integrated financial and non-financial performance information, a sound approach to risk management, appropriate control systems and a shared set of values and ethics. Every day managers are challenged to make complex decisions. Their behaviour and decisions must be grounded in the values of the public service and of their departments.

The second initiative relates to the Report of the Task Force on Public Service Values and Ethics. Under the auspices of the Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to Cabinet, a number of deputy minister level task forces were convened in the period 1995-97. One such task force was asked to look at public service ethics and values. The report of the task force concluded that public service ethics and ethical values are evolving; that new ethical challenges are arising from newly emerging values and new circumstances of the public service; and that these may conflict with existing values.

With individual public service employees being asked to exercise more judgement and discretion in programme decisions and decisions on individual cases, and with greater decentralisation and delegation of authority in staffing, contracting and partnerships, employees are concerned about the absence of adequate ethical and accountability frameworks and proper safeguards.

The task force reviewed the current conflict of interest guidelines and post-employment code and found them basically sound but in need of supplementation in at least three ways:

  • Guidelines for each department and agency should be tailored to meet its particular challenges and circumstances;
  • A more developed central agency capability to counsel individual public service employees and their leaders in matters of ethics and values;
  • There was a need for better training and information about existing codes.

Ethical decisions in the new public service environment are often complicated by tensions and shifts in the balance between values, rules and results: for example, emphasis on results versus emphasis on rules and on innovation and risk-taking versus probity and prudence. Further work is required to get this balance right, for example:

  • By ensuring that rules are written so that they focus on their substantive purpose and are not overly bureaucratic;
  • By enriching the concept of empowering employees by re-emphasising that delegation confers specific and concrete authority to act and thereby implies accountability for specific and concrete results, as well as compliance with rules and procedures;
  • By reaffirming the primacy of law, the constitution, regulation and the process as essential pillars of public administration and of the good society;
  • By developing a comprehensive ethics regime, including appropriate recourse mechanisms both within departments and agencies and for the public service as a whole.

The task force proposed the elements of an ethics regime:

  • A public service code or statement of principles;
  • Department and agency-specific codes to adapt and supplement the service-wide code;
  • Counselling and recourse mechanisms for public service employees facing a conflict of interest or ethical difficulties.

Ethical values in the public service include integrity, honesty, probity, prudence, impartiality, equity, disinterestedness, discretion and public trust. In many ways these values are no different from ethical values in other parts of society, but what makes them distinctive is their intersection with the democratic and professional values of the public service. Integrity, for example, is required in all professions. Its distinctiveness in the public service lies in the capacity to hold public trust and to put the common good ahead of any private interest or advantage.

The report called for a new moral contract between the public service, the government and the Parliament of Canada. The study team recommended that a government-wide statement of principles be developed, focused on the principles of responsible government, and that it should relate the duties of public service employees to these first principles. Following this, the report called for a series of mutually supportive actions at the service-wide and departmental levels, initiatives that include an interpretation of the statement of principles for the culture and circumstances of each department and agency.

Supporting Material

2.7 Human Resources Planning

Through the Modernising Human Resources Management Initiative (section 2.1), the Public Service of Canada aims to create a capacity for strategic human resources planning that will include a results-based focus with a new emphasis on measurement. In the meantime, the Treasury Board Secretariat, representing the employer, provides information, guidance and support for HR planning throughout the public service.

The Context for Change

The Human Resources Management Framework (HRMF) is a guide developed by the TBS for all managers and human resources practitioners of the Public Service of Canada to help them improve human resources management in their organisations in support of their business objectives. Designed as a practical, desk-side reference tool, it is an essential component of the learning curriculum for middle managers, as it reflects current trends and developments in the field of human resources management. The HRMF also presents an inventory of human resources management practices that have demonstrated a positive impact on business performance, as well as those that are unique to the public service environment. The framework is being updated to bring a results-based management focus to all aspects of human resources management, including planning.

Implementing Change

In order to provide a forum for federal departments and agencies to share their experiences and best practices in HR planning, a Human Resources Planning Interdepartmental Network (HRPIN) has been set up. The HRPIN also publishes reports and provides tools for the HR community, such as a Guide to Strategic Human Resources Planning.

In addition, the TBS provides annual statistics on the federal public service workforce covering aspects such as its size and composition, the types of employment and the regional distribution of employment equity groups, and mobility data and statistics relating to them. In addition, through the Joint Centre for Demographic Analyses, the PSC and the TBS provide data on public service demographics that enable departmental human resources personnel and managers to improve their planning.

Each department is encouraged to report on the status of its modern management initiatives in its annual Departmental Performance Report (DPR). Human resources management is one of the key management initiatives expected to be covered in the DPR, as it underpins Results for Canadians: A Management Framework for the Government of Canada.

Supporting Material

2.8 Human Resources Information Systems

Human resources information is all information pertaining to the current and potential human resources population of government agencies and departments, including both current and historical information.

Human resources information systems are operated and maintained within each federal department and agency to support personnel management requirements within each organisation. Fifty-two departments and agencies are members of one of the three endorsed Human Resources Shared Systems clusters. The TBS plays a bridging role between these clusters to minimise diversification and to support the development of additional common capability.

There are also a number of unique human resources systems owned and operated by large departments with in-house information technology organisations and significant investments in technology. By contrast, at the other end of the HR systems and services spectrum, are small departments and agencies with little, or no, in-house capability to support their HR system requirements.

Regardless of size, departments and agencies share one common characteristic - each is a unique stand-alone silo of HR information; all transactions with other departments or with central agencies require significant levels of effort.

Human resources information is centrally collected under the authorities and obligations described in the Financial Administration Act and the Public Service Staff Relations Act. Pursuant to the general powers described under the FAA and PSSRA, the Treasury Board maintains personnel information systems on public service employees. These data banks are the prime source of information for TBS users to:

  • Plan, implement, evaluate and monitor government policies;
  • Support human resources planning and management, including collective bargaining compensation analysis, official languages and employment equity;
  • Respond to special requests for information and conduct research, special studies and surveys as it relates to employee-related personnel information and Access to Information and Privacy requests;
  • Support the development and administration of various insurance and medical plans.

The Context for Change

Human resources management functions are business functions that occur in the planning, administration and control of human resources in the government.

Information management is the planning, directing and controlling of all the organisation's information-based resources to meet corporate goals and to deliver programmes and services. On 3 April 2001, the Prime Minister announced the formation of the Task Force on Modernising Human Resources Management in the Public Service to support the President of the Treasury Board in human resources management reforms within the public service (see section 2.1). The majority of the changes anticipated will require major changes in the roles, responsibilities and accountabilities of the institutions dealing with human resources management in the public service, including the Treasury Board, its Secretariat, the PSC and the Public Service Staff Relations Board.

The legislative proposals being developed by the task force will provide a legal framework for modernisation but many other improvements will come through non-legislative initiatives. The intention of the HR information systems aspects of human resources management modernisation is to eliminate obstacles to inter-operability/integration of government HR systems, to improve the quality and accessibility of HR information repositories and to promote increased migration of departments and agencies to shared HR systems clusters.

Effective HRM ensures that the public service is composed of non-partisan, professional, competent, highly-qualified individuals who are representative of the Canadian population as a whole. At all organisational levels, HRM seeks to deploy these human resources to carry out government policies and to deliver services to the public. Public service employees are recognised as contributors to be valued and developed.

The Canadian Government's human resources information management has the following 18 functional areas:

  • HR Utilisation and Planning
  • Staff Relations
  • Organisation Analysis and Design
  • Classification
  • Staffing
  • Compensation
  • Performance Assessment
  • Training and Development
  • Organisation Development
  • Leadership and Supervision
  • Incentives and Recognition
  • Management of the Executive Group
  • Occupational Health and Safety
  • Official Languages
  • Employment Equity
  • Leave
  • Workforce Adjustment
  • Separation.

Departments and agencies must support the management of their human resources with practical and effective information and supporting systems and processes. A key consideration is to make sure that as much information as possible is created directly by authoritative and affected parties (for example employees or managers), and that human resources information is shared with or transferred to appropriate HR functional areas and to other functional domains in which it has value, such as finance.

In order to implement or improve an HR information system, a number of steps must be followed:

  • The need to move beyond processing HR transactions and storing HR information needs to be appreciated;
  • The direct requirements of employees and managers must be given a high priority;
  • Direct service to employees and managers must be pursued in a manner that reduces dependence on intermediaries;
  • The capabilities of current web-based technologies and best-of-breed commercial HR applications must be exploited;
  • Government-wide information and technology management standards need to be applied.

Implementing Change

A fundamental step in improving the overall level of service provided by the federal government's HR information systems is to focus the scarce resources in departments and agencies within a small number of applications. To that end, all departments and agencies are strongly encouraged not to invest further in unique, legacy HR information systems, but to transit to an endorsed HR shared system as the need arises. In this way, common business processes can be developed and government resources can be applied in such a way as to benefit more than a single organisation.

Current service-wide human resources information systems are a group of separate information systems that collect and consolidate departmental human resources data. System records vary according to specific system requirements, and contain basic employee and position information.

The following systems make up the current set of the federal government's service-wide human resources information systems:

Employment Equity Target Group Data Bank (EEDB): This data bank is used to identify members of the public service who are Aboriginal, disabled persons and/or members of visible minorities for analysis purposes. It facilitates comparison of their representation in the public service with their presence in the general population. It is also used to analyse and monitor the situation and progress of the survey target populations as compared to the rest of the public service in terms of regional and occupational distribution, training, mobility, etc.

Entitlements and Deductions System (EDS): This system holds individual federal employee data relating to pay and benefits. It includes the reference numbers for various insurance and medical plans and the entitlements and deductions of each individual.

Extra Duty Reporting System (EDRS): Included here are individual federal employee data relating to overtime and extra duty usage. It applies to all current employees for whom the Treasury Board is classed as the employer under the Public Service Staff Relations Act, Schedule 1, Part I.

Incumbent System (INC): This system contains individual federal employee data relating to personnel matters. It includes information concerning collective bargaining, exclusions, bargaining agents and languages.

Leave Reporting System (LRS): This information bank houses individual federal employee data relating to paid leave. It applies to all current employees for whom Treasury Board is classed as the employer under the PSSRA, Schedule 1, Part 1.

Leave Without Pay System (LWOP): This system provides information on individual federal employee usage of leave without pay.

Mobility File (MOB): Data are provided on individual federal employees' movement into, within or out of the public service.

Position Exclusion System (PES): This bank provides a record of individual federal employee information relating to exclusions, and applies to all former and currently excluded employees for whom Treasury Board is classed as the employer under the PSSRA.

Position and Classification Information System (PCIS): The system contains individual federal employee data relating to position classification matters. It is used to support the development and administration of the classification system and the Official Languages Program within the public service, in addition to other uses.

Workforce Adjustment Monitoring System (WFAMS): This data bank provides the TBS with information on the Workforce Adjustment cash-outs of employees leaving the public service, under the various Workforce Adjustment policies and programmes. It is used to monitor the implementation and ongoing departmental compliance with the provisions of these various policies and programmes.

Supporting Material

2.9 Advisory Committee on Senior Level Retention and Compensation

In 1997, the then President of the Treasury Board, the Hon. Marcel Massé, established the Advisory Committee on Senior Level Retention and Compensation, comprised of senior officials from the broader public and the private sector.

The Advisory Committee's mandate is to provide independent advice and recommendations to the President of the Treasury Board concerning executives, deputy ministers and other Governor-in-council appointees of the federal public service on:

  • Developing a long-term strategy for the senior levels of the public service that will support HRM needs;
  • Compensation strategies and principles, including rates of pay, rewards and recognition;
  • Overall management matters including human resources policies and programmes.

The Context for Change

When the Advisory Committee was established, the public service was emerging from the Program Review exercise, during which many departments and agencies had reduced their staff. There had also been a number of years of restrictions on hiring and no increases in salaries. Research indicated that careers in the public service were not attractive to new university graduates. In addition, demographic projections showed that the public service would be losing a large number of its senior level employees over the coming decade, with a very high proportion of executives eligible to retire within ten years.

It was against this backdrop that the Government of Canada established the Advisory Committee to provide advice and recommendations regarding the challenge of recruiting and retaining the qualified senior-level employees required to ensure the future excellence of the federal public service.

Implementing Change

In the context of a looming demographic crisis and a decade of fundamental change in the public sector, the Advisory Committee concluded that a growing human resources deficit required immediate attention in order to protect the quality of the public service and, inevitably, Canada's economic well-being.

The Committee identified the need for a clear public service vision for the future, the need for cultural and human resources renewal, and compensation as the most pressing concerns requiring urgent attention.

The Advisory Committee highlighted a requirement for new approaches to compensation for the senior levels of the public service. It expressed the view that an organisation's compensation policy should be designed to attract and retain the appropriate calibre of employees to achieve its objectives. The Committee addressed the principles on which compensation should be based and recommended a compensation structure in line with these principles. Recommendations included:

  • That the total compensation package for the senior level groups should be distinct from that offered to unionised employees;
  • That the cash compensation should consist of two components - a salary structure that has a range for each level with the job rate (range maximum) adjusted at intervals using market comparisons of total compensation in appropriate comparator groups, and a pay-at-risk component tied to achievement of annual objectives;
  • That processes be put in place to remove, as far as possible, the year-to-year administration of public service compensation from the political arena.

As a result of the committee's first report, significant elements of senior level compensation were approved by the Treasury Board and implemented. In 1998, a new salary structure aligned salary rates at the lowest executive levels with the private and broader public sectors and improved relative competitiveness at the more senior levels. In 1999, the Treasury Board introduced the Performance Management Program to support a new scheme of variable at-risk compensation paid on the basis of performance measured against agreed objectives and the achievement of business plans. In accordance with the Committee's recommendations, the Performance Management Program was designed to:

  • Reflect the values of a public service focused on the public interest;
  • Identify objectives that could be individual, team-related or corporate and that would encompass a range of elements, including effective management of resources, leadership linked to quality service, policy advice, innovations and, most importantly, results and exemplification of core values;
  • Allow for the review of significant changes during a measurement period and the continual evaluation of performance;
  • Be an integral part of total compensation, paid each year on the basis of actual performance against agreed objectives.

Taken together, the revised salary structure and pay-at-risk programme contributed to restoring integrity to the compensation system and improving transparency and competitive standing, and began the process of better aligning rewards and performance.

The committee also recognised that the government could not avoid a serious human resources deficit in the public service simply by improving executive compensation. The first recommendation of the Advisory Committee was in fact to establish a vision and culture for the public service that encompasses a shared understanding of core values and changing roles and responsibilities and a sense of common purpose, all of which would help to inspire and challenge the Canadian public service and strengthen its relationship with those it serves.

In its second and third reports, the committee re-affirmed the key challenges of public service renewal - the need for cultural change, for improved human resources management and for attention to be paid to the nature of the work, as well as the workplace, that the public service can offer. Through its expert advice and recommendations that improved the integrity of the compensation system, and its efforts in highlighting structural and cultural obstacles, the Advisory Committee has helped to lay the groundwork for modernising the human resources management regime for the senior levels of the federal public service.

In June 2001, the President of the Treasury Board, the Hon. Lucienne Robillard, renewed the mandate of the Advisory Committee for a further three years.

The committee's fourth report recapped the progress made under the previous three reports, outlined proposals regarding several outstanding human resources issues and made specific recommendations on compensation aimed at improving the timeliness and the comparability of senior public service compensation with that of the external public and private sectors.

The committee pressed quickly on to publish a fifth report that included recommendations on the human resources issues on which it had made proposals in March 2002. The revised methodology for compensation comparison recommended by the committee allows for more timely input and will permit the committee to make its compensation recommendations early in 2003 and in subsequent years. This enables the committee to focus more of its attention on a broad range of human resources issues affecting the senior levels of the public service as it works with the government in support of an exemplary workplace that will continue to retain and attract qualified employees to serve Canadians.

Supporting Material

2.10 Pride and Recognition

It is the policy of the Government of Canada to recognise public service employees for the outstanding performance of their duties, for other meritorious contributions related to their duties, for practical suggestions for improvements, for excellent day-to-day efforts and for dedicated long service.

Public service employees are seen to warrant both formal and informal recognition, and a considerable commitment is being made to implementing effective, flexible and meaningful recognition practices in departments and agencies. The pride and recognition framework aims at creating a workplace where people are valued, recognised and treated in accordance with the core values of the public service. It strives to foster a deep and abiding pride in the work that public service employees undertake.

The Context for Change

In 1987, the Treasury Board approved an employee recognition policy known as the Incentive Award Plan (IAP). The idea of using performance incentives was put forward in December 1990, as part of Public Service 2000. As a result of recommendations of the Public Service 2000 Task Force, the government proposed amendments providing greater flexibility to deputy ministers, allowing them to phase out performance pay (only a portion of the reward or bonus is built into the salary base) and replace it with performance rewards, and to delegate authority to departmental managers for the granting of awards. The development of these awards enables departments to use non-monetary recognition vehicles suitable to departmental specific needs.

The Sub-committee of Senior Officials on Pride and Recognition, made up of deputy and associate deputy ministers, was created in March 1997 to develop and implement an action plan to foster pride and promote recognition in the public service. Its mandate fell within the La Relève initiative to build a vibrant and modern federal public service for the future. In a context of promoting a public service culture of recognition that could move beyond formal awards programmes, the committee set up a network of departmental and agency Pride and Recognition Champions in 2001-2002.

Before that, early in 1996, the TBS initiated an evaluation of the IAP as part of public service renewal and on 28 May 1998, a new Recognition Policy was put into effect to replace the IAP and to manifest the expressed need for a values-based policy offering departmental managers greater flexibility in employee recognition practices. In support of the National Public Service Week Act (NPSW) introduced in 1992, the Recognition Policy also outlined central and departmental responsibilities regarding these important annual celebrations. Increasingly since its inception, NPSW has become a notable and significant event in the pride and recognition calendar.

Implementing Change

More and more, the recognition of employees is being seen as a fundamental and ongoing requirement of sound performance management practice; it is seen as central to the validation of employees' work life experience and to the health of the workplace, having a direct impact on recruitment and retention. The structure and practice of pride and recognition programmes in the federal government are continuously evolving to reflect this philosophy.

Today, the pride and recognition programmes have evolved into an impressive array of tailor-made departmental and agency programmes. These include programme elements ranging from those patterned after the formal aspects of the Recognition Policy to much broader and more spontaneous, i.e. 'instant' and 'day-to-day' practices and initiatives.

The Recognition Policy provides for the following:

Departmental Awards

These are awards that are managed, granted and financed by departments and agencies. They include:

Long Service Awards

Long Service awards, which recognise the faithful service of employees of the Government of Canada, are presented to employees after 15, 25 and 35 years of service, and to employees who are retiring after a minimum of 10 years of service in the federal public service. Some federal organisations recognise additional milestones such as 10, 20, or 30 years of service.

Formal Awards

Formal awards are awards granted to employees who have demonstrated meritorious accomplishments or service in the performance of their duties. Both individuals and groups are eligible. Such awards can consist of various memorabilia, chosen at the discretion of the granting department or agency, which must not exceed the prescribed limits of $5000 for an individual and $10,000 for groups. Suggestion awards, i.e. awards that encourage public service managers and employees to look for new and better ways to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of government operations and service to the public, are considered to be formal awards and are often bestowed by departments and agencies. Employees who are part of a performance pay plan are not eligible for cash awards but may receive non-monetary recognition.

Informal ('Instant') Awards

Departments and agencies may also develop their own special informal awards, designed to recognise and promote public service values, to reinforce the ways people work together in organisations, to encourage teamwork and partnerships, and to promote a client-centred, results-oriented focus. Departmental informal recognition awards are non-monetary, and should not exceed $500 in value for individuals and $1000 for groups.

Corporate Awards

Corporate awards are public service-wide awards managed by the TBS with input in the form of nominations from departments and agencies. Awards include:

Awards of Excellence and Employment Equity and Diversity Awards

Every year, an Awards and Recognition Board selects the most innovative, exemplary or unique contributions from formal departmental award recipients from across the public service and recommends them to the President of the Treasury Board for additional recognition. A specially designed pin, trophy and certificate are presented at a national ceremony during National Public Service Week. The Employment Equity and Diversity Award recognises organisations and individuals who, through their ongoing diligence and commitment, are helping the public service become representative and inclusive.

Outstanding Achievement Awards

Outstanding Achievement awards are presented to career public service employees occupying a full-time position in the executive group or at the deputy minister level (or equivalent). The award recognises sustained and outstanding performance in the public service, demonstrating both enlightened leadership and service-oriented innovation. This award consists of a citation signed by the Prime Minister and the Governor General, a gold pin and a Canadian work of art with a maximum value of $10,000.

Head of the Public Service Awards

The Head of the Public Service awards recognise employees who best exemplify the work of public service employees in meeting the challenges outlined in the Clerk of the Privy Council's Annual Report to the Prime Minister on the Public Service of Canada. Up to a maximum of 20 awards are granted per year, consisting of a trophy and a certificate signed by the Clerk of the Privy Council.

Emphasis continues to be placed on ensuring that the intent of the programme and the newest developments in the pride and recognition field are communicated to departmental co-ordinators via the national Pride and Recognition Conference, which takes place annually in the environs of the national capital region.

The COSO Sub-committee on Pride and Recognition is carrying on its work and is exploring opportunities to engage departmental Pride and Recognition Champions in their departmental action planning vis-à-vis fashioning an authentic and meaningful recognition culture. In this, a new strategic framework for action is being developed by them which will include communication activities, a treatment of the fundamental question of underlying values, an implementation of managerial and employee recognition training and a tie-in to related and complementary workplace well-being issues.

The 2002 Public Service Employee Survey results show an improvement in the degree of pride in their work felt by public service employees since the last survey of 1999 and activities are evolving to continue this pride and recognition paradigm shift. Recognition programmes are an integral part of quality performance management, of continued performance improvement and of workplace validation.

Supporting Material

  • Bravo!, COSO Sub-Committee on Pride and Recognition and Public Works and Government Services Canada, 2001
  • The Manager's Deskbook, Treasury Board of Canada, third edition
  • Treasury Board Manual, Human Resources Volume, chapters 1-6
  • Public Service 2000: The Renewal of the Public Service of Canada, The Gov of Canada, 1990

2.11 The Public Service Employee Survey

This section deals with the innovative introduction of public service-wide surveys of employees in the late 1990s.

The Context for Change

Why was this conducted?

In 1997, based on three principal public service initiatives (La Relève, Human Resources Management Framework and Modern Comptrollership), the Clerk of the Privy Council introduced the idea of a voluntary survey of all federal public service employees (those who are identified in Schedule 1, Part 1 of the Public Service Staff Relations Act and for whom the Treasury Board of Canada is the employer).

This decision was taken due to challenges (restructuring and reorganisation, programme and priority changes, compensation freezes and downsizing) that the public service had undergone in the past few years. Many public service employees had been personally and professionally affected by these changes. Moreover, survey feedback was recognised as a cornerstone of progressive organisations seeking to improve well-being and service to clients.

The Treasury Board Secretariat was tasked with implementing the project. The TBS worked in consultation with other key federal departments and agencies to develop a survey that would gather information from all employees through a common questionnaire. In October 1998, the Committee of Senior Officials endorsed the project. It was agreed that the survey would be conducted in the spring of 1999.

By using one instrument at a common point in time, the survey provided the first comprehensive and consistent 'snapshot' of employees' workplaces, addressing such issues as diversity, career aspirations, learning and developmental needs.

Implementing Change

How was it conducted and what were the results?

This was the first time that a survey of this nature was conducted, and the first time that the Government of Canada was able to see how the views of employees in departments or agencies related to the views of other employees across the public service.

Questions were chosen based on what research showed to be important in developing and maintaining high-performing organisations. A variety of other long-standing and rigorously developed standards and frameworks of good organisational performance were used, including the Investors in People model (England), the National Quality Institute standards (Canada) and field research conducted among large corporations in Canada and the USA. The questions were developed in consultation with a number of departments and agencies and pre-tested with employees in focus groups held across Canada.

Statistics Canada administered the survey on behalf of the TBS. In accordance with the Statistics Act, Statistics Canada guarantees that individual respondents will not be identified in any way. Employees received a copy of the survey questionnaire with their 24 May 1999 pay cheque or pay stub. A stamped, self-addressed envelope was included with the survey. Once completed, the questionnaires were returned to Statistics Canada.

Over 190,000 questionnaires were distributed to public service employees in Canada and abroad. Of these, more than 104,000 responded, which represents a response rate of 55 per cent. As the demographic profile of those who responded matches that of the public service as a whole, the results represented a good basis for analysis.

After preliminary analysis, the results of the survey indicated that although employees felt that their work was important, were proud of their work, liked their jobs and thought their organisation was a good place to work, there were areas where improvement was needed. The following concerns were identified: a call for more management support to employees, as well as a need to address suggestions of harassment and discrimination in the workplace; a need to improve workplace well-being (pride, recognition, workload, coaching, classification, staffing); and a need to address career development and learning.

On 10 November 1999, the TBS disseminated the public service-wide results and a summary report using the survey internet site and printed materials. In addition to the website and the printed copy, the public service-wide results were made available in Braille, audiocassette, large print and diskette. On 18 November 1999, the TBS disseminated departmental and agency results using the survey website. It was at the department's discretion to determine the format of the release. Departments and agencies were also encouraged to produce a summary report to their employees.

What have the results been used for? What has changed?

The results of the survey provided a good baseline to help in efforts to improve the workplace and deliver better services to Canadians. Since the findings of the survey results, many workplace initiatives have occurred, and actions have been taken both by central agencies and line departments and agencies to address the issues identified in the survey. Descriptions of some workplace improvement initiatives are available via the survey website.

Second Public Service Employee Survey

In early spring of 2001, it was decided that the TBS would conduct a second survey to help measure progress since the first Public Service Employee Survey. As in 1999, Statistics Canada administered the survey on behalf of the TBS.

The questions for the second survey were chosen based on their usefulness to employees, managers and bargaining agents in helping to identify issues and provide concrete solutions to improve the workplace and service to Canadians. The questionnaire was developed by an Inter-departmental/Union Survey Working Group composed of representatives from small, medium and large departments and agencies, Statistics Canada, central agencies, bargaining agents and external advisors.

The second survey explored the same themes as the 1999 Survey, including harassment and discrimination, workload, career development, communications, leadership, service to clients and staffing. Over 50 per cent of the questions from the 1999 Survey were repeated. A number of other questions were revised and expanded for greater clarity and to obtain more meaningful data in areas such as harassment and discrimination, well-being and work-life balance, career development and fairness in the staffing process.

New themes were also introduced to explore other areas of workplace concern, such as official languages, health and safety, values and ethics, retention and labour management relations.

The survey period ran from 22 May to 21 June 2002. The questionnaire was provided to employees in a 'paper copy format' only. Once completed, questionnaires were returned directly to Statistics Canada. Statistics Canada accepted completed questionnaires for several weeks following the established survey period.

A survey questionnaire was distributed to all employees in departments and agencies listed under Schedule 1, Part 1 of the Public Service Staff Relations Act (PSSRA 1-1) for which the Treasury Board represents the employer. Employees meeting the following status were eligible to participate in the 2002 Survey:

  • Indeterminate employees (permanent)
  • Seasonal employees
  • Employees on assignment
  • Term employees
  • Casual employees

Over 165,000 questionnaires were distributed to employees in Canada and abroad. More than 95,000 employees responded. The response rate was up from 54.6 per cent in 1999 to 57.8 per cent. This provided a solid basis for analysis and comparison with the 1999 Survey.

The survey results indicated improvement in several areas since the 1999 Survey. Of the 39 questions or sub-questions that were repeated verbatim (excluding questions on general information), improvement was seen in 34 areas. Although there has been an increase in employee satisfaction, there is still work to do in areas such as harassment and discrimination, career and learning, workload/work-life balance, leadership and labour management relations.

On 2 December 2002, the TBS disseminated the public service-wide results and a summary report via the survey website. In addition, a paper copy of the public service-wide report was sent to all employees and copies were made available in Braille, audio cassette, large print and diskette upon request.

On 9 December 2002, all departments and agencies released their departmental and organisational unit results to their employees via departmental intranet or print format. It was at the discretion of departments and agencies to determine the format of the release. Departments and agencies were also encouraged to produce a summary report for their employees. The TBS posted departmental results on the survey website on 9 December 2002.

Survey Follow-up

A Survey Follow-up Action Advisory Committee (SFAAC) has been established. The committee is comprised of representatives from the TBS, departments and agencies, managers' communities, unions and outside experts. The TBS chairs the committee and provides secretariat services.

The committee will recommend through the Chair of the SFAAC to deputy ministers, heads of agencies and other key stakeholders, reasonable, do-able initiatives that respond to the second Public Service Employee Survey in the short, medium and long term. The SFAAC report will address four or five public service-wide issues for potential action with defined accountabilities and identify clear goals, such as policy review, including recommendations on how this work could be conducted and by whom. A Technical Analysis Advisory Committee has also been formed and is composed of central agency representatives and Statistics Canada. This team will provide in depth analysis of survey results and will support the SFAAC. A Policy Analysis Group has also been formed to address in detail the potential impact of the survey results on public service policy.

Supporting Material

2.12 Health and Safety in the Workplace

The objectives of the government's Occupational Health and Safety Policy are to promote a safe and healthy workplace for public service employees and to reduce the incidence of occupational injuries and illnesses. This policy applies to departments and agencies listed in Schedule 1, Part 1 of the Public Service Staff Relations Act.

The Context for Change

The part of the public service for which the Treasury Board is the employer became subject to the provisions of the Canada Labour Code, Part II and its pursuant regulations in 1986. Part II of the code governs occupational health and safety in the workplace and, more specifically, is intended to prevent accidents and injury to health arising out of, linked with or occurring in the course of employment. Three fundamental rights of workers underlie the legislation:

  • The right to know about known or foreseeable hazards in the workplace;
  • The right to participate in identifying and resolving job-related safety and health problems;
  • The right to refuse dangerous work if the employee has reasonable cause to believe that a situation constitutes a danger to him/herself or to another employee.

In 1993, representatives of the TBS, other major employers and labour organisations began an intensive consultation process with a view to improving occupational health and safety in workplaces under federal jurisdiction. New legislation came into effect on 30 September 2000.

Implementing Change

The new legislation gave employers and employees expanded responsibilities to ensure a healthier and safer work environment. The amendments were intended to foster an environment that allows these parties to assume greater responsibility for their own workplace regulation by giving them the discretion to identify and resolve health and safety hazards as they arise.

Organisations with 300 or more employees must establish a Health and Safety Policy Committee, with equal representation from managers and employees. The committees are involved in the development of occupational health and safety related prevention programmes, investigations, studies and inspections, and the assessment of personal protective equipment. The establishment of these committees at the corporate level ensures that health and safety concerns are addressed at the highest management levels.

The role of the workplace health and safety committees has been expanded. Committees continue to inspect their workplaces regularly and are also responsible for the investigation of complaints. Labour and management must make every effort to settle complaints themselves before a government Health and Safety Officer becomes involved. Amendments to the right to refuse dangerous work streamlined the complaint resolution process by establishing an internal responsibility system that strengthens and clarifies the rights of both employers and employees. The employee will have the right to select a person from the workplace to participate in an investigation when a member of a health and safety committee is not available. Employees affected by a colleague's exercising his/her right to refuse dangerous work continue to receive their pay until the end of their shift or normal work period. The employer's investigation cannot be delayed should either party forego the right to be present. The employer has the right to discipline an employee found abusing the right to refuse dangerous work. However, the burden of proof rests with the employer. The employee may appeal to the Public Service Staff Relations Board.

Women who believe that their workplace presents a danger to their foetus or, in the case of nursing mothers, their baby, will have the right to remove themselves from the activity immediately and the employer must assign them to other duties until they obtain a doctor's certificate. The employer has the right to assign the woman to other duties or require her to remain at work in a safe location.

These are some, but not all, of the changes to Part II of the Canada Labour Code. All are designed to strengthen labour-management self-governance over occupational health and safety and, in so doing, to make workplaces safer.

Supporting Material

2.13 Official Languages

English and French, Canada's two official languages, are distinguishing and important traits of Canadian society and of the Public Service of Canada. In many respects, linguistic duality is as closely linked to our collective identity as our democratic and legal institutions and our social programmes.

In keeping with the theme of the Country Profile series - management reform - the main and two-fold focus here will be on official languages in the federal public service, both from the point of view of service to Canadians and that of English and French as the official languages of work in the federal administration. The brief treatment here will go well beyond the limited scope provided in 1994, where the subject of official languages was only considered in terms of language training for staff.

The reader may find the initiatives described here of interest from either or both of the following perspectives: management reform within a particular federal programme, namely, official languages; and Canada's official languages programme. One can also view the discussion as a reflection of how the issue of official languages occupies a prominent place in the reform of public service management.

The Context for Change

There have been no legislative changes to the Canadian official languages model since the last edition of the Canada Profile in 1994 (the revised Official Languages Act was promulgated in 1988). However, fiscal belt-tightening in the early 1990s slowed down the implementation of the official languages programme, as happened with other federal programmes.

In recent years, the federal government has made a renewed commitment to official languages objectives. A key goal is to make the public service an exemplary workplace, whereby in certain designated regions, employees are fully able to work in the official language of their choice, as specified in the Official Languages Act.

Recently, there has been a conscious shift away from an over-reliance on a rules-based approach to one that puts a greater emphasis on the human dimension, on values such as respect and inclusiveness and on partnerships, notably by listening to and working with managers to address the challenges they meet in ensuring service in both official languages where required. This shift is contributing to a culture change within the federal government. In this approach, it recognises and counts on the abundance of goodwill among the various players.

The renewal includes work on identification of cultural and systemic barriers to the use of both official languages in the public service, a study of the perceptions and attitudes of public service employees toward official languages, and a streamlining and modernisation of policies, as well as efforts to increase the use of French in the workplace and the number of bilingual employees, and to balance representation of the two linguistic groups within the public service.

The projects, policies and initiatives discussed below seek to advance linguistic duality in Canada and the Public Service of Canada.

Best practices

Official Languages Action Plan

In spring 2001, the Prime Minister instituted a reference group of ministers, headed by the President of the Privy Council and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs to prepare an action plan, which was tabled in early 2003. It lays out the programme's major streams for the years to come and states the means necessary to achieve the objectives. An exemplary public service, in terms of official languages, is one of its pillars.

Moreover, in 2001-2002 the Clerk of the Privy Council made the subject of official languages one of the five priorities deserving more sustained attention from deputy heads, a measure that will impact on all reporting levels.

Network of Official Languages Champions

A network of official languages champions, comprised of senior officials from federal organisations, act as agents of change, helping to advance official languages and making the renewal process more dynamic by bringing and stimulating leadership at the management level and ensuring the flourishing of official languages. During 2003, the champions will fine-tune their role and develop an action plan for their intervention strategy; this plan will include integrating official languages into all aspects of institutional operations, the development of generic tools and enhanced consultation on major issues.

Programme Monitoring

The Treasury Board Secretariat has a number of tools with which to monitor and report on programme implementation. For example, federal institutions submit to the TBS their annual official languages review, a public document approved by their most senior official. In consultation with members of the official languages network and the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages, performance indicators will be developed which will further assist in the measurement of performance in various contexts such as the accountability accords for senior managers. Moreover, to evaluate their official languages performance, some institutions call upon the support of the local community. The TBS has conducted compliance audits and will continue to do so, as will the Commissioner of Official Languages. These and other tools will make it possible to monitor the programme more effectively and to identify issues for continuous improvement.

Perception and Attitude Study

In co-operation with other federal organisations, the Official Languages Branch of the TBS conducted a government-wide study on public service employees' attitudes and perceptions regarding official languages, particularly in the workplace. Attitudes Towards the Use of Both Official Languages Within the Public Service of Canada will assist in evaluating employees' levels of satisfaction, in identifying barriers to the effective use of both official languages as prescribed by the Official Languages Act and to the improvement of attitudes, and in finding ways to raise the level of acceptance and use of both official languages in the workplace. Moreover, it will also be used to develop a new awareness strategy that aims to achieve long-term solutions culminating in a change of culture regarding a greater acceptance and use of both official languages in the Public Service of Canada.

Moreover, broader government-conducted employee opinion surveys in 1999 and 2002 (section 2.11) included an official languages component; the findings will help identify solutions to create a workplace more conducive to the enhanced use of both official languages, particularly of French, on a daily basis. These efforts will contribute to making the Public Service of Canada an employer of choice.

Language of Service

The Official Languages Act gives citizens the right to service in the official language of their choice. Official languages are thus taken into account in all service delivery channels of the federal government. More details are provided in the section of this volume on service. For example, Government On-Line is a major initiative designed to provide government services and information on the internet in both official languages. As a result of achievements to date, Canada is now a recognised world leader in this area. Via Service Canada access points (of which 17 have been designated as bilingual) and the 1-800 O-Canada telephone line, Canadians receive direct help and can quickly obtain information on more than 1000 federal programmes and services.

Language of Work

The Government of Canada is aiming to build an exemplary workplace with respect to official languages. That means a public service that not only provides high-quality services to Canadians in both official languages but also respects the linguistic rights of its employees. With the aim of promoting a workplace where respect for others forms the basis of interpersonal relations, particularly among Anglophones and Francophones, two pilot projects deserve mention, both within the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency, which has shown leadership in official languages matters.

The first pilot project, developed by the TBS, explored interpersonal respect and its application to English and French as languages of work. Two sets of workshops, involving 125 public service employees, led to fresh insights and a deepened commitment on the part of many to foster an increased use of French in communications between agency headquarters and offices in the province of Québec. Participants reported positive changes in themselves, in their work units and in inter-office communications from an official languages perspective.

The second pilot project at the agency focuses on processes: employees develop and implement mechanisms and tools necessary for a more equitable use of both official languages. This project is ongoing and the lessons learned from it will be applied elsewhere in the agency.

With regard to the use of English and French in the federal workplace, the Government of Canada counts on all concerned to promote a greater spirit of co-operation and openness, and encourages employees to consider it a civic duty to promote bilingualism.

Awareness Activities

The TBS has published an annotated version of the Official Languages Act, revised in partnership with the Department of Justice. Its explanations enable non-specialists to gain a better understanding of its application.

To better reflect the values and trends emerging from the activities and pilot projects of 2001-02, the course content of the official languages orientation, given country-wide, will be revised in 2003.

The TBS continues to provide information sessions to employees on service to public and language of work to better familiarise employees with the government's official languages objectives.

Best practices are increasingly being exchanged, with some posted on the TBS official languages website for broader dissemination.

To further integrate official languages into the day-to-day management of the institutions, the TBS continues to maintain and develop its networks of communication and exchange with departments and agencies, such as the network of official languages champions, the advisory committees of the departments and Crown corporations, the regional federal councils and the Interdepartmental Consultative Committee on Language Industries. Language industries include writing, translation, interpretation, language technologies such as speech processing, automated processing of written and spoken languages, electronic document management, technology and application software, and training and research, as well as jurilinguistics.

Supporting Material



Date Modified: 2006-12-07
 
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